Busy Week at Heroes for Children

Wow! We've had so many entries for the naming contest. It's not too late. Make your suggestion on the comment section of the entry below. Even if you don't have a blog to win the makeover, don't hesitate to make your suggestion. We love to hear from you. If you read this from a subscription through Feedblitz, be sure to come over to our site itself to leave us a comment about how you think we're doing.

We've had a busy week to help families with children with cancer. Just this week, we will spend $17,000 in financial assistance to twenty-two families, ship five laptops to teens living with cancer, and plan two Heroes Milestones events. Our assistance includes:

• Sperm banking for a newly diagnosed teenage boy diagnosed with Germ Cell Carcinoma.
• A laptop for an eighteen year old year girl with a brain tumor who has battled cancer off and on through remissions since the age of twelve. She hopes to begin college in a month while still keeping up with her cancer treatments.
• Financial assistance for a young woman, age 17, and her mother to assist with living expenses while they live in Houston displaced from their Louisiana home due to her impending stem cell transplant.
• Help towards the purchases of basic child needs such as diapers, clothing, and baby food for the siblings of a cancer patient as his treatment has left mom unable to work.
• Funeral assistance for a seventeen year old male who lost his three year long battle with Osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer.
• Two special parties for cancer patients--one a Sweet Sixteen and the other for a seven year old through our Heroes Milestones program. The Sweet Sixteen is for a young girl with Medulloblastoma, a brain tumor. Given less than six months of life to live, she is combining her sixteenth birthday with a Celebration of Life party. This young lady has been very active in the planning and coordination of her party, happening this Saturday night, providing her a distraction for her current situation.

Name this Blog

The “Name Heroes for Children’s Blog Contest” is officially underway!

Our blog needs a new name to go with the new design Ruby & Roja Design is putting together for us! The person who comes up with the winning blog name will receive an amazing prize… a free blog design by Ruby & Roja Design (a $90 value)! Leave your blog name suggestions in the comments section of this post. The contest will end at midnight on July 25, 2008. The winner will be announced on July 30, 2008. Have fun, be creative!

Let the naming begin!

The Most Adorable Little Pet Shop

Why we are here!! See below for one family's journey with Leukemia.

“This is the story of Mycha’s battle against childhood cancer. She is a beautiful 5 year old who loves animals (especially horses and unicorns), making crafts, reading, and playing. Her spirit is as bright as the sun.

Mycah was diagnosed with (ALL) Leukemia September 2007.

It started as a persistent fever that wouldn’t go away with normal dr. visit and antibiotic. She was sleepy a lot and just wasn’t improving with the normal treatments. After a couple of dr. visits, we took her to the ER in Waxahachie on Tuesday night, September 18. She was immediately transferred by ambulance to Children’s Hospital in Dallas with scary low blood counts.

For 3 agonizing days, we waited for bone marrow biopsies, spinal taps, and tests to render a diagnosis. “Leukemia”…. The word just hung in the air as my worst fears were confirmed by the doctors.

Mycah went straight into remission after only a few chemo treatments. We made the decision to then place Mycah in a clinical trial where she was randomized into one of four treatment arms. The decision was extremely difficult, but was made in faith.

Mycah bagan “Maintenance Therapy” in April of 2008. She goes for chemo in the clinic once a month and will do so for the next 2 years. She has had much success through the tough 7 months of intense chemo treatments. She is in remission, has not been readmitted to the hospital since her initial diagnosis week, has sailed through her protocol chemo phases and is doing great! We are gracious for all of these miracles.

We would like to especially thank the Heroes for Children organization for their support during this time. Cancer puts a strain on families in many ways and we are thankful for the role Heroes for Children has played in our journey. We are touched by the generosity and legacy of Taylor Anne and Allison Leigh. Our prayers are with this organization as well as the families who suffered such a loss for its sake.”

Thank you all for being supporters of Heroes for Children. Because of you, we are able to help adorable pet lovers like Mycah and her famiy.